"C'mon, Professor Torres! You got this!" A young man with red hair cheered along with a few other students as the woman feigned going left before spinning and whisking past her dark haired opponent. With little effort she sank the orange ball into the net from the three point line. "And that is just how I do." The fifteen or so kids went wild, tackling their buddy and harassing him about having been beat by an older woman before quickly assuring Art that they meant nothing by it. She shooed them away, smiling as they headed off to the kitchen. She made her own way to the locker rooms where she had left her phone, checking it for messages. Nope. None. She wasn't sure why she had a phone. She only really had about seven friends and they all slept down the hall from her. Her human friends from her days as a teen, waitressing in the Bronx, all thought she was dead. 

She sighed and pushed her fingers through her now vividly blue and purple waves of hair, turning in front of the mirror to flex and marvel at her toned muscles. Staying fit was hard work. She was chubby once. Never again. The feeling of getting lightheaded every other time she stood was something she couldn't handle. Plus her tattoos didn't look good stretched out. She ran her fingers along them, tilting her head as she envisioned more ink covering the remaining spots of exposed, scarred flesh. Her scars weren't all gruesome. Most just looked like she'd been attacked by some kind of animal with claws or a knife and a few burns. But she didn't like looking at them. The tattoos and scars were all visible in her sports bra and sweats. She had smacked a boy earlier for commenting on the scar taking up her back.

All this thought of scars was depressing her so she resigned to simply go back and play more ball. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and pursed her lips as if to kiss the mirror. But she didn't. Obviously. That's crazy. She just adjusted her shoes, which were as colorfully creative as she was, and headed back out. The sight of Freddie dribbling the ball brought a faint smile to her face and she quickly moved to lean against the bleachers. "Well, well. What's going on here?"

"I was going to run naked through the quad but I settled for a quick game of free throws" Freddie bounced the ball off of the ground and back into the palms of his hands. "I wouldn't mind a little one to one though, you're certainly dressed for it Nia." He threw the ball over to his gorgeous friend and smiled. "What do you say, a quick game of Horse?" It was something they had done for years when they were students. Midnight games of basketball, fueled by liquor stolen from Logan's drinks cabinet that often resulted in either a temper tantrum or sex, sometimes both. "It'll be just like the old days."

"In other words, you're looking to get down and dirty on the court and in my sheets." She gave him a grin as she caught the ball with ease only to toss it off to the side without a second glance. The sound of the net swishing as it met the ball was followed by the sound of the ball bouncing off of the floor several times. "I should warn you that my aim is a lot better than it used to be." But that's what happens when you remember that you were once a highly trained assassin.

Picking the ball off the floor after it had rolled to his feet, Freddie grinned at his old friend. "Remember, I have a heart condition. You'll have to take it easy on me, on the court and in the sheets" He winked before he began to dribble the ball. "The whole all ages night was a good idea, Nia" He said as she moved to position to guard him. "The kids will love it and so will the teachers. Even now you still surprise me" He took a step back and launched the basketball high into the air for an easy 3 point shot, "We can skip all this and go straight to the bedroom if you want?" He laughed.

"I'm full of great ideas. Why are you so surprised that I'd suggest a night filled with singing, gaming, movies, and snacks? I might be getting old but I'm still a kid at heart." The mixed young woman grinned as she fetched the ball and made another shot, though she missed. "H." Glowing hands snatched up the ball and tossed it to Freddie as she moved closer to him as well. "Depends... What do you want, mi amor?" Her smile was softer as she stood inches away from him. Despite the bag of cats in her head he seemed to make her feel normal.

"What do I want? ... All of it, give me all of it and give me it now." Freddie pulled a spin move and hit another basket. "I want it all and I want it with you, always have." He telekinetically pulled the ball into his hands and tossed back over to Nia. "Seeing you like this...when we were kids we were both in a dark place, hell we both still are but now, that darkness seems a little brighter and ain't because of your powers." He began to guard her again as she set off on her next turn. "It's up to you really Nia, what do you want....?"

Nìa caught the ball and threw it again, missing as Freddie smacked it before it had gotten an inch from her hands. "O." She kicked the ball away and grabbed Freddie by his shoulders and pulled him closer. "What I want? I want us to be us again! I want to pretend that I'm not a psycho assassin serial killer. That I'm just a teacher. But I can't. And it pisses me the fuck off." Like many of their basketball court conversations, this one escalated quickly as her grip on his shoulders tightened. "I want the good days back."

"The good old days are gone, it ain't never gonna be like it was but that doesn't matter. You know why? Because we're different people now and we can be better than we were before." Freddie raised his hands and placed then on Nia's soft neck. "We can be better."

Armonía closed her eyes, the game forgotten as her arms slid and draped over Freddie, leaning against him. "Jeez. It hasn't even been a week and I'm already spazzing out." She smiled lightly and placed her head against his chest with a light sigh.

"Guess that makes two of us." He kissed the top of her head lightly ad simply held Nia in the middle of the court for a few moments of blissful silence. "Come on girl, let's get out of here."

[Center]♤♡♢♧♤[/center]

Armonía had prepared herself for the night by arming herself with her favorite body pillow, iPad, phone, and laptop. She had her favorite blue fleece blanket matching her hair wrapped around her Hello Kitty pajamas as she watched everyone file in. She had worked hard to turn the large club into a place fit for children. She had a lot of help from students too, especially in preparing the snacks. She had a falling out with Kitty earlier after snapping on the Head Mistress for feeling she was overstepping her authority and undermining Art's own authority as the appointed X-Men leader. While she did find that the test at the museum was fun and insightful she wasn't pleased that Kitty hadn't discussed it with her. She hadn't spoken with her old friend since, burying herself in the work of preparing a relaxing evening. 

And relaxed she was. She found herself a nice dark corner where several older students surrounded her as she inked them. A few had asked for X-Men tattoos but she had denied them. She compared it to a civilian getting the Marine Devil Dog on them. They didn't earn it. She did fear that she'd be stuck giving tramp stamps, butterflies, and kanji marks on people all night. But teaching was her thing now and teach she did. As she leaned against Robert Yancy's back with her inky gloves she finished shading [url= http://uploads.neatorama.com/images/posts/746/70/70746/1396308851-3.jpg ]his tattoo[/url]. It was another of her famed 3D tattoos, his skin appearing to be ripped open on the right side of his chest while a snarling wolf seemed to trying to break free. He could shift into various canine forms and she was giving him all the information she knew about shapeshifting mutants, speaking with bravado and enthralling her audience.

As her hand cramped up from doing so many tattoos so quickly she took a break and sent them away. Guarding her tattoo station she flexed her hand and curled up with a paperback novel. [U]Of Mice and Men[/U] was one of her favorites and it still managed to make her cry.